The Devil in the Cage
by Aini NuFire
Summary: 11x10 AU - Rowena sends Lucifer back to the Cage. But he drags Castiel with him. Now the Winchesters have to find a way to raise their angel from Hell.


**A/N: For thedemonofcat. 11x10 AU. A few scant lines from the episode. Thanks to 29Pieces for beta reading!**

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"The Devil in the Cage"

Lucifer rained down blow after blow upon Castiel, the force of his might splitting cheekbone, then lip. A hairline fracture in his skull followed. Castiel was already weakened from his encounter with Amara, the kick to his chest sending searing fire through the words carved into his vessel. Castiel choked on blood dripping down the back of his throat as he slumped on the floor of the temporary cage. Dean had run to Sam on the other side and was clutching desperately at his brother. Lucifer clamped a hand on Castiel's shoulder and loomed over him smugly.

"So, last words?"

Castiel knew he just had to buy enough time for Rowena to complete the spell to send Lucifer back to his proper Cage, just had to keep him away from Sam and Dean. But a small part of him whispered if that was really enough. They couldn't defeat Amara. And if Lucifer could…

"Can you really beat her?" Castiel ground out.

Lucifer's eyes gleamed. "I can."

He could do it. He could do it so Sam wouldn't have to. He could help…

But the Devil's tongue dripped with lies.

Castiel took a breath. Lucifer waited for him to speak, seeming confident he'd get what he wanted. Castiel readied himself to leap to his feet for another round.

But then a blinding light filled the cage and Lucifer whipped his head around.

"No!"

Castiel could feel the power swirling around the archangel, prepared to drag him back where he belonged. Lucifer felt it too, and the hand on Castiel's shoulder tightened, fingernails digging in through coat and flesh. Castiel sucked in a sharp gasp as he felt Lucifer hook into his grace, desperate to anchor himself.

But Rowena's spell was more powerful; it would not relinquish its target. Lucifer screamed, and so did Castiel as he was wrenched into the vortex with Lucifer, the Devil dragging him along.

In the next instant, the light faded, and Castiel landed on an onyx surface. Though solid, it rippled like water. Or squirming shadows. Dread slithered down Castiel's spine as he propped himself up on his hands and knees, a thread of familiarity chilling his blood. He'd only seen the Cage once, when he'd come to raise Sam. The outside was a finite container, but the inside was a sort of pocket dimension, a seemingly endless void of darkness that went everywhere and nowhere. However, it was only engineered to contain the essence of archangel.

Castiel pushed himself upright and focused his grace to find the edges of this prison. He'd flown in and out before, but this time he'd have to walk through the walls.

He sensed the shifting frequency of the perimeter and turned toward it, only to freeze as he found Lucifer right behind him. The Devil's eyes blazed red with rage.

"Going somewhere?" Lucifer sneered.

Castiel staggered back a step.

"Not this time," the archangel snarled and waved a hand.

The shadows in the floor came to life, arching up into inky vines lined with thorns. Before Castiel could react, multiple ones shot toward him. One stabbed right through his shoulder, another through his thigh. Castiel screamed. The other vines coiled around him, ensconcing him in their writhing embrace, thorns shredding muscle and sinew. He choked as the air stole from his lungs and his grace sputtered under the assault.

Lucifer stepped closer, leaning forward to leer at him. "Welcome to the Cage, brother."

o.0.o

Dean threw an arm up to shield his eyes as the supernova exploded in front of him. He thought he heard screams swallowed in the roaring gale, but then it all fell silent. Blinking away spots, he stared at the now empty cage, save for him and Sam. Dean stiffened. "Uh, where's Cas?"

Sam pushed himself up, eyes growing wide as he looked around. "Wh-what happened?"

"Rowena was supposed to send Lucifer back to the Cage." Dean scrambled to his feet and twisted around. Outside the cage, the simmering fires extinguished and the door suddenly clicked and swung open. Dean continued to look around in confusion until he spotted Crowley making his way down, tugging Rowena along by the chain connected to the witchcatcher necklace around her throat.

Dean stormed out of the cell. "What the hell did you do?"

She held her head up haughtily. "I sent Lucifer back to the Cage, as you ordered."

"What happened to Cas?"

Crowley blinked and shifted to look into the cage. "Oh, bloody hell," he muttered.

Sam stumbled out of the cage, an arm wrapped protectively around his ribs. Both he and Dean had taken quite the beating in there, but they were still standing.

Rowena arched a brow. "Well, that's unexpected."

"Rowena," Dean growled. "Where is he?"

"The spell was only supposed ta send Lucifer back to the Cage," she said. "But I suppose it's possible it cast a net over every angelic being in its range."

"_What_?" Sam sputtered.

Dean's blood turned to ice. "You mean Cas is now in the Cage? With Lucifer?" His voice rose an octave with the horror of what had just happened. He whirled toward Crowley. "Make her bring him back."

Crowley narrowed his eyes on his mother.

She huffed and sagged under the weight of the witchcatcher. "My magic is drained. I couldn'a bring him back right now if I wanted to."

"Then how long for you to recharge?" Dean snapped.

Rowena sniffed. "Ach, you think summoning someone out of the _Cage_ is easy? That was a complicated spell, not to mention keeping Lucifer contained here in this temporary one." She shook her head. "Sorry, boys. By the time I've recovered, your wee pal Castiel could be minced angel."

Dean took a menacing step forward, though he wasn't entirely sure what he planned to do to her. They were _not_ leaving Cas in the Cage. But the longer they waited, the greater chance Lucifer would just kill him. Though, the Devil was bound to be pissed, and Dean knew how he liked to punish…

Sam perked up. "What about sending someone in?"

Dean spun around, brows shooting upward. "Excuse me?"

Sam ignored him. "Can you do that?" he demanded.

Rowena pursed her mouth.

"Mother?" Crowley prompted, jangling the chain.

"Ach, yes," she said with a scowl.

"Okay, and how is that person supposed to get back out?" Dean asked.

"An anchoring spell," Sam answered, raising a questioning brow at Rowena. "You can do that too?"

She gave him a black look. "Yes. All you'd have to do is activate it when ready, and anything or anyone you're holding onto will return with ya."

"No," Crowley interjected.

Dean bristled. "Excuse me?"

"Look, I'm sorry about Castiel, but we can't risk Lucifer hitching a ride out again too."

"We won't let that happen," Sam said staunchly.

"Like you weren't going to let yourself get stuck in the cage with him?" Crowley retorted. "You boys are incapable of not mucking things up!"

Dean stepped forward, towering over the King of Hell. "We are not leaving Cas down there. So either you help us, or I shiv you right here."

Crowley scoffed under his breath but didn't say anything.

Dean turned to Sam. "I'll go."

Sam straightened. "What? No, we'll both go."

Dean shook his head. "You just spent half a day stuck alone with Lucifer. And after that beatdown, I'm not gonna let you face him again."

"I can do this," Sam insisted. "We have to do this, for Cas. And I know Lucifer better than anyone. We go together, Dean. You and Cas came for me; so we both come for him."

Dean worked his jaw, not liking it one bit but they were wasting time arguing. He turned back to Rowena. "Fine. Do it."

"I need a few ingredients."

"Then get them."

With a huff, she turned to head back up to the ledge, Crowley following with the chain in hand.

Dean reached up to rub the back of his neck. "Okay, so we're already in Hell, which means there's no time difference like if we were on Earth. So it's only been a few minutes."

"A few minutes is enough," Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, but it's not days or weeks." _Or forty years_, his mind supplied bitterly. "We'll get him back."

Despite that assurance, Dean was still agitated as they waited for Rowena to get her spell ingredients ready. Then, once they were, Dean felt a new terror seize his heart as he prepared to go where no living soul should set foot—the Cage.

"What's it like?" he asked Sam quietly.

His brother's throat bobbed. "Dark. And empty. But…Lucifer can manipulate it- things." He gave himself a small shake. "I don't know. I don't remember most of it."

Right.

Dean stood at the ready as Rowena began her incantation. He felt magic coil around his chest and tighten, like a rope line.

"The anchor activates by conscious will," she said.

"Click my heels three times and say, 'there's no place like home'?" Dean grumbled.

"Whatever floats your boat, deary."

She tossed a handful of herbs into a bowl and said another incantation. There was a flash of light and sudden absence of oxygen, and then Dean blinked to find himself standing on a sea of inky glass. He turned slowly. Sam was right beside him, eyes wide and pale. He should have stayed behind.

"This it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam said hoarsely.

"Where the hell are they?"

Sam shivered, but then drew himself up. "This way," he said, turning left and starting forward.

"How do you know?" Dean asked incredulously.

Sam nodded up ahead. "The storm. It's…Lucifer."

Now that Dean was looking, he could see the flickers of red like slivers of lightning. A rock dropped into the pit of his stomach as he followed his brother toward the very thing they should have been running from.

As they drew nearer, Dean could make out two shapes, one small, the other larger and rounder. His eyes widened when he realized it was a mass of thorny vines, contorting around each other like snakes—with Cas in the middle. He was covered in blood, head hanging low and body shuddering.

Lucifer slowly turned toward them, like he'd known they were there all along. "Hello, boys," he said, looking delighted. "Sam, we need to pick up where our little conversation left off."

Cas lifted his head, eyes blown wide in stupefaction and anguish.

Sam raised his chin. "There's only one angel getting out of here today."

Lucifer's mien only cracked into a wider grin. "Oh, but you two are no celestial warriors. No daring rescue like when Castiel got you out the first time. And, oh, he didn't do such a good job." Lucifer tsked and canted his head. "Maybe you boys could get away with a few _pieces_."

With a flare of his vermillion eyes, the vines suddenly surged and churned, the branches already skewering Cas's body pushing through further. Cas threw his head back and screamed, blood spurting up and out his mouth.

"Cas!" Dean yelled, his eardrums ringing with the force of the scream.

"Stop it!" Sam shouted.

"Will you say the magic word?" Lucifer asked.

"Dean," Cas gasped. "Get Sam…out…of here."

Dean automatically clenched his fists. _Not without you_. But how were they supposed to accomplish that? Lucifer was too powerful, and Rowena wasn't here…

But Michael was. And that was probably an equally bad idea but Dean was out of options.

"Hey, Michael!" he bellowed. "I got a ticket out of this hellhole if you're interested. Right here with your Sword."

Sam and Cas gaped at him while Lucifer narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Devil asked.

"We need to defeat Amara," Dean said. "You can't be trusted, but maybe Michael will help us out."

"_Dean_," Sam hissed.

Dean wanted to shoot him a wry look. Hadn't they been here before? The play hadn't changed. "Come on, Michael! We don't have all day!"

The Cage floor juddered, and Dean shot his hands out for balance. His heart rate started kicking into overdrive now, and he dearly hoped he wasn't making things colossally worse.

A bright light appeared in the distance, looking as though it were shooting toward them. Lucifer turned to face it, expression hardening. Dean took the split moment to rush to Cas, Sam on his heels.

"Oh god," Dean uttered as he saw just how big the branches that had punched through Cas's body were. "Is the spell gonna work with this?" he hissed under his breath.

"I don't know," Sam hissed back.

Cas's eyes were glassy with pain as he shuddered where he was suspended.

"Nothing for it," Dean said and grabbed his arm.

Lucifer whirled toward them, spittle flying as his face turned puce.

Sam seized Cas's other arm, and Dean focused all his intent on activating the anchor spell and getting them the hell out of there. Cas screamed as they were swallowed in light, and Dean hoped they hadn't just ripped him apart.

But in the next moment, they landed back in the dreary caldera of Limbo. Cas was with them, but bleeding out on the ground from gaping holes in his shoulder and leg. Dean almost threw up at the sight of mangled flesh, muscle, and glint of bone.

Crowley stood a few feet away, scowling. "Didn't I say you would make a mess!"

Dean and Sam simultaneously dropped next to Cas, but their hands stalled as they didn't know exactly how to help.

"At least Lucifer is still in the Cage," Dean snapped.

"This has been a horrible train wreck," Crowley raged on. "So we're done. Team-up over. I want you lot to get the hell out of Hell."

"Can't you see Cas is dying!" Sam exclaimed.

"Feather duster always makes a comeback," Crowley rejoined. "Now get out before I stop being hospitable."

Dean almost jumped to his feet to grab Crowley by his lapels and slam him into a wall, but he didn't dare move away from Cas, who was grey and trembling, eyes closed to mere slits.

"What about her?" Sam asked roughly, motioning to Rowena. "Can't she do something?"

"I told you, I'm drained," Rowena whined.

"She stays," Crowley snipped, tugging on the chain to lead Rowena away and leaving the three of them helpless on the ground.

Dean exchanged a grim look with Sam. They definitely needed to get out of here. Dean quickly took off his belt and cinched it around Cas's leg, hoping to cut off _some_ of the blood pouring from the wound. Sam removed his flannel shirt and wrapped it around Cas's chest, knotting the sleeves together as tightly as he could. They were pathetic attempts in the face of such injuries, and any human would be dead already. But Cas was an angel, and that gave him a chance, so they were going to do whatever they could.

Pulling an arm over each of their shoulders, they hefted Cas off the ground and began the long arduous struggle of carrying him up the winding stairs and back out into the Earthly plane. The portal dropped them back into that dingy building. Billie was gone. Outside in the alley, the Impala was where Dean had left her.

They got Cas into the backseat, Sam climbing in with him, and then Dean clambered behind the wheel and booked it to the nearest motel. Even once they'd gotten Cas inside and resting on a bed, they didn't know what to do for him. There was no way to humanly patch up wounds like this. All they could do was pack the gaping holes with towels and keep them in place tight enough that hopefully Cas wouldn't lose any more blood. Not like he had any left.

Dean immediately went for the case of beer he kept in the trunk and slumped in a chair, knocking back a hefty swig. Now that the adrenaline had faded, his throat hurt from where Lucifer had choked him and his body was covered in aches and pains. He imagined Sam was in much the same shape.

Dean looked over to where his brother was sitting on the second bed, bowed forward with his hands clasped between his knees, gaze on the ragged stutter of Cas's breathing.

"You good?" Dean asked.

Sam didn't respond for a moment, like he hadn't quite heard the question. Then he shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, what if Lucifer was telling the truth, you know? What if he's the only—"

"No, dude," Dean interrupted. "The Darkness is bad. Her and the Devil, that's a nightmare."

"But we still have no idea what to do about Amara," Sam pressed.

Dean dropped his gaze. "I know." The thrall she'd had over him when he'd confronted her…it terrified him.

"'M sorry," a frail voice rasped.

Dean straightened sharply and almost spilled his beer. He slammed the bottle on the table and rushed over as Sam leaned close, settling a hand on Cas's forearm.

"Cas?" Sam called hopefully.

Cas's eyes were still closed, his pallor still waxen, but his lips moved in response. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I had the chance…to let Lucifer…help you." A staggered wheeze rattled his chest. "An' I didn't…take it."

Dean frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam's eyes blew wide. "What, you mean _you_ say yes to him?" he sputtered.

Dean's lungs seized. "What the hell, man? In what universe would that be okay?"

Cas's eyelids fluttered open, revealing glazed blue irises. "I can't help you defeat the Darkness," he whispered. "I'm not enough. If letting Lucifer in…was the only way to help…"

"It's not," Dean snapped.

"Cas," Sam said desperately. "Saying yes to Lucifer will _never_ be the answer. Not after everything we went through to put him back in the Cage."

Cas closed his eyes and was silent for so long, Dean thought he'd lost consciousness again. But then he spoke again, "You came for me." It came out in such a breathless whisper of wonder that Dean felt something in his chest fracture.

"Of course we did."

Cas cracked his lids once more, those blue depths now pooling as he focused on Sam. "Y-you…"

Sam folded both his hands over the angel's and gave him a small smile. "You're worth it, Cas. You and Dean…I'd face down Lucifer any day to save you."

Cas's watery gaze looked torn between awe and gratitude.

Dean cleared his throat. "And as for the Darkness, we'll figure it out. The three of us. Like we always do. Team Free Will."

Cas closed his eyes and nodded.

"Cas," Sam said, trying to draw him back. "What do we do? You're- you're gonna heal, right?"

"Mm," Cas mumbled. "Mi-might take…a while."

"Okay," Sam breathed. "Whatever you need, we're right here. We're not leaving until you're better."

Cas didn't say anything to that, either passed out or perhaps content in the promise.

Dean returned to his beer. The weight of the world was on his shoulders, but he supposed that wasn't anything new. So right now, he was gonna take a moment, or several, and just rest in the fact that his brothers were safe—if not whole—because as long as he had them, he could face anything.


End file.
